Flooding hits Tarbela 5th extension project; inquiry ordered

Haripur: Federal Minister for Water Resources Mian Muhammad Moeen Wattoo paid an emergency visit to the under-construction 1,530-megawatt Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Projectafter water inflow caused flooding at the site.

Sources said Wattoo visited the Tunnel-5 powerhouse and site area before chairing a meeting at Tarbela Guest House-1.

He sought a detailed report from the project administration regarding the incident, with responsibility for the breach to be determined.

The flooding occurred after the breach of the cofferdam, a temporary protective structure, which allowed water to enter the powerhouse and site area. Wattoo inspected the site of the breach on Monday.

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Later in the evening, a meeting was held at Tarbela Guest House-1 attended by Member Water Syed Akhtar Shah, General Manager Tarbela 5 Project and Project Director Umair Manan, General Manager Tarbela Dam Anwar Shah, senior officials of the Pak-China company, and consultants.

The minister was briefed on the cofferdam failure and the subsequent flooding of the construction site.

Wattoo directed that a report on the causes of the breach be submitted at the earliest, noting that the incident had disrupted work at the under-construction 1,530-megawatt powerhouse.

Local sources said the inquiry would determine whether responsibility lay with the construction company, the consultants, or the Tarbela 5 engineering team.

They said that consultants and engineering staff appeared helpless before the foreign construction company, which raised further concerns about oversight.

The actual facts, they said, will only emerge once the inquiry report is submitted to the federal government.

In April, a three-member delegation of the World Bank, headed by Regional Director for Infrastructure in South Asia Pankaj Gupta, visited the Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project.

The team visited several key sites and observed ongoing construction activities. These included the raised intake, tunnel, penstock, and powerhouse.

The Tarbela 5th extension project director briefed the delegation on progress across all seven major work fronts, noting that construction is advancing at a steady pace.

The Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project is part of WAPDA’s plan to promote green, clean, and cost-effective energy.

The World Bank is providing financial assistance of US$390 million for the project.

Under the 5th extension, three generating units of 510 MW each are being installed at Tunnel No-5 of the Tarbela Dam. The project is expected to add an average of 1.347 billion units of hydel electricity to the national grid annually. Upon completion, the total installed capacity at the Tarbela Dam will rise to 6,418 MW.